from the grandiose to the impromptu... to the completely unexpected. and the most epic thrill ride this city has ever faced. transformers the ride 3d. los angeles. endlessly entertaining. start exploring at discoverlosangeles.com we leave with some breaking news. there's a senior source in the boston investigation telling cnn images showing two men are being circulated to federal and state agencies. the source describes the men of being of high interest and possible suspects. we'll be back with more on that at midnight for another live special edition of the show, and more cnn team coverage of the

boston bombings. now to anderson cooper who's in boston. piers, thanks very much. it's 10:00 here in boston and there's breaking news here and back in washington. we've now learned that investigators have photos and are trying to identify two people in those photos. also, some other new images that may shed light on who did this. may. that plus the question of why the fbi has suddenly stopped talking. stopped talking to the public tonight, postponing and then later cancelling a press briefing. in washington, breaking news on the ricin poison letter. president obama's fiery attack on senators who blocked gun control legislation. first, susan candiotti joins us with the breaking news. >> we've learned from a federal law enforcement official who's regularly briefed on the investigation. that images of two men -- there

are two photographs we're tacking about here, are being circulated among law enforcement agencies around the country. and those law enforcement officers are asked to be on the lookout for these people, because they are possible suspects and of high interest. the reason we're being told that there's a high interest in these people is because of the timing of where they were right near the finish line before the blast went off. and also, because of what they have with them, what they are carrying. in this case, at least one of them is carrying what appears to be a dark colored backpack. and they have also circulated a memo, so to speak, among the agencies and describes it this way. the attached photos are being circulated in an attempt to identify the individuals, highlighted therein. feel free to pass this around to any of your fellow agents elsewhere. we know also that authorities do not yet know the names of these

people. so they truly are trying to find them and are calling them possible suspects. >> let's be very clear of what we know and what we don't know. you have seen one of these photos, one of these photos is in the possession of cnn but we are not releasing them. we are not showing them on our air, because we don't want to do anything that would affect the investigation in anyway. >> exactly. because if we show them, they don't know who they are. we certainly don't want to be a part of tipping these people off. >> we're also, just for the record, not going into any descriptive information about the individuals in these photos and we're doing that on purpose. >> exactly, that's right. don't want to give too much away. bottom line, there are two photos of two individuals, it's fair to call them persons of interest, not even suspects, just persons of interest. people -- law enforcement wants to talk to these people, learn more about these people. would like to identify them by name, and find them, that's the latest. >> exactly.

exactly. they're hopeful they'll be able to find these people. that's why they're spreading them around to so many people. do you recognize them. >> appreciate the update. i want to bring in tom fuentes. former fbi assistant director with extensive experience investigating attacks like this one. what do you make of this development? >> i think susan's exactly right. they're trying to circulate among law enforcement as the first chance to try to identify one of these individuals, not to have individuals at this time put out over the media, where they realize they are suspects. and maybe leave the country and make it harder to locate them. i think it's a strategy choice they've made to try to do it this way, the idea being that maybe if they can apprehend one of them or both, but specifically one, that person may cooperate and give up the identity of others that may have been involved if there's more than one person involved.

and again, the other people would not be alerted to flee, if, in fact, it's not public yet who they are. that's a hard decision to make. they're balancing the fact that if they put the public -- the pictures out in the public, they're going to have a much easier chance. but at the same time, they're going to be flooded with leads from thousands of extra leads and they're already covering thousands of leads. it's a difficult strategy decision to make on the part of the commanders. and i think that's probably what they've been press elling with all day today. they have great photos of a couple people. but how they want to go about apprehending them. >> yeah, i want to bring in also john king and julia keim, she's with me, the former massachusetts homeland security director. obviously has a lot of experience here in boston, susan candiotti is with me as well. john, the significance of these developments, we've been hearing a lot throughout the day, a lot of different information.

this is obviously very good news for investigators? >> last night they thought they made a lot of progress in the what and how. tonight they believe they have made a lot of progress in the who about distributing the photo to law enforcement. i was told first by a source earlier today and confirmed by the mayor, that the big breakthrough came first, the video breakthrough was video that came through the service camera at the lord & taylor store. the video analysis of that showed them what they believe to be someone making the drop, coming in with a suspicious package and putting down right around the time. from that, they have analyzed that video more. boston pd are getting so much video sent in. from that, they made further progress in identifying, they do believe they have at least the second explosion site. video of the placement of the device.

>> once you have a person of interest or two persons of interest in this case, you -- it then allows you to even narrow your focus all the more? >> you would follow where those leads might take you, if you have pictures of those people or persons, you would link them to a name and possibly start the investigation. i'm not too concerned with the fbi not having these press conferences. i think that actually -- we all have a common goal which is to find out who did it. >> who cares about the press conference. i think that that's what we have to remember, there's a purposeful reason for not disclosing either the picture or the pictures around it at this stage. they may have a hot trail and they don't want to disrupt it. or they have a cold trail and they want to keep looking around. that's what's happening, why we've kept pushing where the fbi is right now. there's no question something progressive and productive has gone on today. and it's a matter of figuring out what it is. >> it could very well be at some

point in this investigation, they could decide to release the images in order to get the public's help. but clearly at this point they're not there yet. >> i think tom and juliet know more about the inside conversations. you've seen in past investigations, sometimes they say, a public appeal. they appeal the first day. the first day they asked for help. now that they have what they believe to be the video images, they've made a conscious decision to keep it among law enforcement for now. you see different tactics. clearly they believe this is the best course now and we'll learn more as we talk to them. susan, though, they've made a decision that they think this is the way to go about it. not to ask for the public's help. perhaps they know more than they're telling us. >> there is something that is regularly done in investigations like this, that is, whenever something like this might occur, one of the first things that is normally done is to get cell phone records checking the tars of who is making phone calls of

a particular time around copely plaza. they would be able to trace those phone records to who was making them down to the person. whether that has been done in this case, i don't know. but that's certainly a normal thing they would do. >> if there are two people. if they are working together, it would be very possible that there would be cell phone communications or some form of communications between them. there's a lot we don't know at this hour. >> could i have one more point? >> yeah, tom, go ahead. >> i was going to say, another aspect of this, now that you have good photos of the subjects placing a bag. now they're going to go back and not only be looking at videos from the rest of the crowd, they're going to be looking at public transportation. the videos and subway stations throughout boston, until they get them going on or off the trains that places them in a neighborhood where they have a safe house or apartment where the bombs were constructed. there's other videos in town besides just the ones taken at

the scene that day. >> just for our viewers, we showed you two still images there, those are not the images we are talking about. we're consciously not showing these images. we do not want to do anything that's going to interfere with the investigation. the images you just saw are not being circulated with law enforcement right now. people that authorities would like to find and to speak with. we'll have more with john king and juliet keim as well. over the last few days we've learned much more about some of the survivors of all this. not just who they are, but why they were there at the finish line. who they were cheering on or where they were running in the race. and who helped them make it through those critical blood soaked minutes after the blast. the by standers, the first responders who rushed to do whatever they could, taking off their shirts, making makeshift turn cats. so many people acts heroically. cindy and her mom are alive

don't because of the quick first aid they got. they lost a lot. but they're alive. >> reporter: the front page of the boston times is gut-wrenching and unforgettable. a young woman wounded in the boston marathon bombing. being treated by two good samaritans. this is the story behind the picture. carmen was running her first boston marathon. not only was rich there, but their three children were there too to cheer on their mom. her sister and niece were there. carmen is on the left, her sister in the middle and celeste's daughter on the right. rich took pictures of his wife in the first few miles and drove to the finish line where he and his children waited across the street from where the bombs exploded. they were there for ten minutes. and then -- >> it was surreal how loud the noise was.

i can almost still hear it, it was deafening. my younger son started to cry. my oldest son his first words were, is it the north koreans. >> reporter: they were okay. but he knew his wife and her sister were on the other side of the street. and this is what happened. celeste who is a hairdresser who spends most of her time on her feet had to have her legs amputated below the knee. this is the front page picture again. sydney who is getting ready for college next year, also critically wounded. >> major injury to her femoral artery. you see in the picture two gentlemen applying pressure to that wound and really saved her life. the surgeon said she could have bled out in a matter of minutes. >> the heartbreak and torment this family is going through, is

only magnified by what happened when cindy was 15. she was in a serious car accident. >> suffered some head trauma. and we almost lost her then. to see her back in the hospital a couple years later is just disheartening. >> it's tragic. >> yeah. >> rich and his wife are devastated. they were planning to have a party after carmen finished the marathon. now this entire family's life is changed profoundly and forever. rich tells us what celeste, her legs gone, told her sister carmen at the hospital. >> the first thing her sister said was, i wanted to see you finish that thing. and i think my wife's words were, i'm going to run -- i did my marathon, we're going to run your marathon next together. >> i mean, the family is so strong, and really defined in face of this. >> they really are. they're such kind people. we've heard so many stories like that, i mean, this family's life

is challenged forever. we're talking about celeste, celeste works at a beauty salon just two blocks away from here. the reason she and her family were in that spot, her beauty salon was nearby and she got a lucky parking pass to be in that spot. you were talking about the financial situation for so many of these families. hundreds of families don't know how to pay for the medical care. insurance doesn't cover all of it. we've set up a fwund, if our viewers are interested in contributing, they can. >> i was talking to a prosthetic expert earlier today, these devices, which many people will need cost tens of thousands of dollars. and some can cost as much as $100,000 and need to replaced two times a year. that's going to be important for celeste who is a hairdresser. >> many of these families are

not aware of the costs just yet. >> we'll update that as people get funds set up. appreciate it. breaking news in the ricin case, tainted letters mailed to the president and u.s. senator. we'll tell you about an arrest that's been made. and how the suspect first drew suspicion. president obama spent part of the afternoon consoling newtown families. why he calls it a shameful day for washington ahead. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004.

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an arrest in the ricin case, two letters, one sent to senator wicker the other to president obama, each containing the same writing, each tainted with the deadly toxin ricin, both being tested in the army's biowarfare lab in ft. dietrich. john, what are you hearing? >> the justice department confirming an arrest of an individual in this investigation. so far, no charges filed to our knowledge. justice department has listed no charges as yet. pending testing of the substance in the envelopes. the justice department says curtis is believed responsible for mailing three letters that

preliminarily tested positive for ricin. the letters were addressed to roger wicker as well as the white house, and a mississippi justice official. that mississippi official has been identified by a family member. and the clairian ledgee it's not clear why that judge was targeted. all three letters contained threatening messages, to the white house and senator wicker were identical. they said, to see a wrong and not expose it is to become a silent partner to its continuance. inside i am k.c. and i approve this message. the other message contained in the letter to the judge contained the language, time for somebody to die, or words to that effect. we were not able to contact the judge on the phone this evening. we are all waiting for conclusive testing on these

substances that have been sent to labs. >> dana bash reported earlier from capitol hill that this person had sent letters to the senator before, and that's really how they were able to zero in on him. is that what you're hearing as well? >> yes, this individual was known to law enforcement authorities at the capitol complex. and they already had a name. in fact, right after we heard about these alleged ricin letters, we also heard that authorities had a person in mind or person of interest. it took 24 hours or so for them actually to make an arrest. still, we're told no charges have been filed as yet pending identification conclusively of what the substance is, anderson? >> joe, appreciate the update and the reporting. another important story took a major turn today. senate republicans took a stand

on the gun control legislation. the president blasted the senators and the gun lobbyists who fought it. listen. >> all in all, this was a pretty shameful day for washington. the fact is, most of these senators could not offer any good reason why we wouldn't want to make it harder for criminals and those with severe mental illness to buy a gun. there were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. it came down to politics. the gun lobby and it's allies willfully lied about the bill. >> that was former congresswoman gabby giffords standing next to president obama. she responded in an op ed writing, some of the senators who voted no have also looked into my eyes as i talked about my experience being shot in the head at point blank range and expressed sympathy for the others shot beside me, six of whom died.

polls show overwhelmingly favor expanding background checks. shame on them, she wrote. dana bash joins me again. also, gloria borgia. the president lost not only republicans but democrats on this piece of legislation. what happened? >> that's right. four democrats, that's the number that he lost. if you look at it, isn't very much, but it is absolutely crucial and made the difference between winning this and losing. if you look at those democrats, anderson, all but one are up for re-election next year in very red states. in very pro gun states. that was something that was lard for the president to take, but his -- there's no question that he and the people around him understood the politics of it. i think what surprised them the most was that there was a conservative republican pat

toomey on this piece of legislation, he was able to get virtually no republicans that they weren't -- they didn't sort of think they had them in the bag before. what happened? look, i think the president -- i don't think anybody would argue with the fact that the president made a very cogent argument today of what happened. it is politics, it is genuine fear of the gun lobby. and i talked to several people who were in the room with the senators who they thought were on the fence, and it's clear to them, they thought, that the senators were looking for ways to get out of it as opposed to ways to say yes. >> glower yarks president obama visibly angry and emotional today. which is not something we see all that often from him. >> no, i thought he was more passionate today than i hardly ever have seen him in the past. this wasn't an issue that the president really wanted to take on. but it was an issue after new town that he decided to take on. it's clearly something that he

felt very strongly about. he lobbied for this measure as we haven't seen him lobby in the past. and what you heard today was a president saying to his supporters, you need to bring the same passion and commitment to gun control that our opponents in the nra do. we ought to learn a lesson from them. it was clearly a president i believe trying to frame the 2014 election. and saying, you know what, we have to vote the same way the vocal minority votes in this country. and i think this is coming down to 2014 and the midterms. and if you look at all the republicans running for re-election, only one of them, susan collins of maine voted for this expansion of background checks today, abdomnderson. >> the president indicated there

would be more votes on this in the future. but with the 2014 midterm elections looming, do you really see the outcome changing? >> the short answer is no. we expect there to be some more votes tomorrow, with regard to the larger piece of gun legislation. i would not be surprised at all if the senate majority leader harry reid decided based on what happened today to put the legislation aside and move on. another answer to your question, of course, the complicated answer to why this happened is because there are other very important issues that are -- social issues for some of these conservatives, democrats and moderate republicans to try to take votes on. immigration reform is the next one. and so, there are a lot of people here who think that it's time to at least -- if they're going to have this defeat, move on to that. it's also something that i was told, anderson, that some of these senators on the fence were telling maybe the white house and other advocates, that that's

the reason they didn't want to bite the bullet, so to speak on guns, because they knew they were going to have to take tough votes they already committed to on immigration and other things. >> dana, i appreciate the reporting, gloria as well. we have a lot to talk about tonight. a massive explosion at a fertilizer plan the in texas. 18 miles north of waco. we know a field triage station has been set up at the plant. the chief of the local hospital says that doctors have been told to expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 people hurt. these are early reports. i want to caution these are early reports. we'll try to gather more information and bring that to you shortly. so many people sustained serious and life changing injuries in the bombing. i'm going to speak with a woman whose two brothers each lost a leg and a man who just lost the hospital last night with shrapnel wounds. a number of his friends have lost their limbs. he considers himself lucky to be alive, and we'll have the details on the investigation.

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and...i'm talking to myself... [ male announcer ] call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month for 2 years with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. and that's the pace -- [ explosion ] >> new video, another perspective, another angle of the destruction at the finish line. the attack in boston has not broken the spirit of this city, not by a longshot. for so many people, their lives have been changed forever. the kind many are trying to recover from. kaitl kaitlyn's two brothers each lost a leg in the bombing. she joins me with steve burn who was also injured and left the hospital last night. thank you for being with us.

how are your brothers doing? >> they're hanging in there. >> you weren't there, you came down -- >> no, i was watching in boston. >> where were they in relation to the blast? >> they were at the second bomb, like right on top of it. >> goodness. >> and steve, how are you doing, you just left the hospital last night? >> glad to be out and just compared to how my friends are and stuff, you know, it's -- as bad as it is, i can't complain. i was six inches away as being the same way as them, losing limbs. i was fortunate enough to have the mailbox take most of the impact from the lower half of my body. the rest of the shrapnel was caught in the face, neck. >> where were you standing in relationship to the first explosion? >> we were at the second explosion. where they show the backpack and the mailbox, that's where we

were. >> the shrapnel that hit you came over the mailbox? >> bb's, nails. my friend had 70 nails in his leg. i still have a bb in my neck, it's too close it could affect my eyesight. our clothes were burned right off of us. undescribable. >> do you remember the blast? >> i remember everything about it. >> really? >> can you walk me through? what stands -- >> the first explosion went off just down the block from us. and -- >> did you know something was wrong then? >> we knew it wasn't something to do with the marathon, and we were ready to get going and get out of there, and our friend jared said, let's get the girls over the fence. just as he said that, is when the explosion hit.

it blew me over the fence into the street. >> it actually carried you over? >> it carried me over, the force, the heat, the burn from it, the chemicals in the bomb, just had me on fire and everyone else -- as i came through, just in the days of what was going on, looking for my friends and stuff like that. it was absolute chaos. i saw things that i wish i didn't see. people losing limbs and just stuff -- did was bad. >> could you hear anything after the explosion? >> i talked to some people who said they couldn't hear anything. they could see people's lips moving -- >> it was in the movie, when the flash grenade went off, all you can hear is the high pitch noise. that's all it was, it's like it was in slow motion seeing what went on. half the people ran away, the other half ran to help. it was amazing to see the amount of people that stood by us to help us out. it was catastrophic to know what was going on, and not knowing anyone i came with, four out of

my five friends lost limbs. >> four out of your five friends? >> yes. we're all two close friends. her two brothers, i know the family well. they're like brothers to me, i love them to death. i wish the best to everybody, our friend mark lost both of his legs most likely. >> no, one. >> he's borderline with that. pray that he pulls through. we're having a great day, and waiting to see our friend cross the finish line, and all of a sudden it turned in a flash. >> do you know how long your brother's going to be in the hospital for? >> one of my brothers is coherent and talking, he's off the ventilator, the other is not. >> he's still on the ventilator? >> yes. >> he's in surgery right now? >> they're in separate hospitals? >> one's at beth israel, and one's at brigham young. >> how is your family doing? >> surprisingly, my mom is holding up.

she's a trooper, because i don't know, i couldn't do it. going back and forth and she wants to be at one and the other. she's doing it, though. >> i'm so sorry for what your family's going through. thank you. best wishes. i'm glad you're doing okay. sorry to hear about all your friends. >> i'm hoping everyone sticks by everybody for the bills. we're all self-employed and no one -- there's just -- everybody's concerned with the medical bills and that's phenomenal, people willing to step up and help us with that. people forget -- our friend jared is a carpenter his hands are incinerated, he can't go to work. it's every day life that doesn't stop. >> how does that work? are you paying your own hospital bills? >> we've heard numerous things from people, that so and so will help pay or this will help pay and there's foundations for this, fund-raisers have been set up for us. for everybody affected.

>> especially with those who have lost limbs. i was talking to a guy about prosthetic devices today. they can cost $50,000. >> people have everything else. the support is tremendous. >> we're hoping that the mayor, the governor, president obama, that they don't let us citizens down in the united states of america. we're hardworking people and in the time of need with a terrorist act on american soil. we're hoping our country steps up for us and they're there, and not one person affected by this catastrophic effect has to deal with the burdens of financial problems afterwards. not to mention with the physical th things they have to live their life with now. >> we're going to put all the information on our website, how people can help out. and that's going to get more sorted out in the days ahead. we're going to continue updating that website. >> appreciate it. >> thanks so much. stay strong.

incredible. authorities have made significant progress in the boston bombing. how much closer are they to cracking the case or where are they coming up? we'll give you the latest information that we have. switch your car insurance to geico and we could help you save on boat and motorcycle insurance too. other insurance companies are green with envy. oh, no, no, no...i'm sorry, but this is all wrong? i would never say that. writer: well what would you say? gecko: well i'd probably emphasize the savings.

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patients via ambulance. an additional 20 by private vehicle. we're being told by officials on the scene that we can anticipate many more before the night is over. very serious situation. fortunately, we're backed up by other area hospitals. our sister hospital in temple and in waco are assisting us as well. >> what sort of injuries are you seeing? >> as you can imagine, with a massive explosion that has taken out the size that you're seeing on your screen, you can only imagine the type of injuries everything from orthopedic injuries, to patients that are experiencing serious blood loss. we are encouraging residents who want to help to please don't come to the hospital this evening. we are setting up a blood donor center in the morning at 9:00 here in waco. with carter blood center.

if they could wait. they'll be taking donations all day, we need their blood, we want them to help. but coming to the hospital would not be a good thing tonight. also we have just established a special phone number for loved ones and friends who are worried about their loved ones, and they can call 254-202-1100. that's 254-202-1100. that's a special hotline here in hillcrest. they can call and we will try to provide them as much information about their loved ones as possible. that would be a good way for them to get additional information. >> how long has this been going on? when did you start to receive your first patients? >> we received the call right in the 8:00 hour central time. we were receiving our first

injury by 8:15 here at our trauma center. and we have had a steady flow of patients coming in by ambulance. and also by private vehicle. we are well equipped in this region tonight with helicopters. unfortunately, we have high winds in the area. and we're not able to use our chopper aircraft as much as we would have liked to, but our ground team is doing a great job as i heard as you came out of the break, you noted the special triage center that's been set up by the heart of texas rac. that's part of our system, we're trying to set up that triage center on site to make sure we're getting the patients who need more treatment sent there. >> is it a football field, a stadium that the triage area is on? >> yes, your information is very good. that is the football field at west texas, the community that

was the home of the west fertilizer plant that exploded. it is the hometown football field and we're setting that triage center up there. so if anyone is listening to this, and they're looking for the nearest medical resources, that would be the best place for them to initially go. >> and we do have one photo glenn of -- i'm going to be seeing it for the first time. i wab the to bring that up on our screen. it looks like a massive fireball. have you been told anything about the cause of this? is the fire still burning? >> we have very little information on this end. as can you imagine our focus has been truly on the patients that we're receiving, and we've had very little information from any of the local authorities there about any origin of the explosion. but we were told that it was

near a residential area, near apartment complex. and that many of the injuries are coming from the residential areas as well as the folks who worked in the plant. >> glenn, your advice to anyone listening, or anyone who's in touch with somebody who's injured is to get to the triage area as opposed to trying to make it to hillcrest hospital or one of the other hospitals? >> yes. if they have a private vehicle and they have someone to drive them, come by private vehicle. both of our facilities here in waco are set up to take them by private car. and we're conveniently located on i-35. and so we are easy to get to, and folks know where we are. they're welcome to come here, they're welcome to see help at the triage center, whatever may be most convenient for them. >> glenn, i can tell you, we just got videotape about a minute ago of the fire still

burning, we're going to put that up for our viewers. so it appears the fire clearly still burning. we saw what seemed to be a massive explosion, and obviously, glenn, you said you received about a dozen people by ambulance and how many by private vehicle? >> yes, we've received more than 20 -- that number is continuing to climb by private vehicle. i've just been told by a leader of our special ops team here that's helping us in our command center. the weather is clearing for us, and choppers are mobile and we'll have six choppers that are able to serve the scene and bring them here. and we've got another 15 coming by ground i've just been told. >> glenn, i'm going to let you know, i know you're going to be incredibly busy. i appreciate you talking to us in waco. w we want to recap, a massive

explosion at a fertilizer plant 18 miles or so outside of waco texas. no clear indication on the number of injuries, but a triage area has been set up at a nearby football field. and we just talked to glenn robinson of hillcrest hospital. they received more than 20 injuries, wounded people by ambulance. dozens more by private vehicle, also choppers in the air and more people coming in as he was speaking. it is obviously a very fluid situation. this is still early on in this incident in the aftermath of the incident. the fire is still burning, we're looking at live pictures right there. we're getting these images as we're showing them to you. and we're going to take a short break. try to find out more information. we'll be right back.

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welcome back. we have continuing information on a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant outside waco texas. we have a freelance photographer who's on his way to the scene. his name is beji anderson. he joins us now by phone. what can you tell us about what you're seeing and where are you precisely? >> i'm at a roadblock just northwest of the scene. and just short of i-35. the maribell street access. i was told by law enforcement i'm not allowed to go any further. people are being evacuated to the west. i see driving north on i-35, i saw a number of ambulances and official cars with lights on

traveling toward waco, and i'm assuming they were taking injured to the local hospitals. as i approached west, i saw exits were blocked off i-35. the main exit. just north of that where i got off is where state trooper met me. right before i got to that exit i flipped over to the left and saw a number of homes in flames. and lots of smoke. that seemed to be drifting to the northwest. and i have three helicopters above me. they seem to be monitoring the situation. and that's where i'm at right now. i was told that folks are being evacuated to the community center. that's where i plan to go next. >> i just talked to the ceo of a

local hospital. dozens more are being taken by private vehicle as well as ambulance. the sheer number of people have been injured in this. how many houses did you see on fire? i could not identify the structures. i thought at least three in flames. >> we're also told a number of choppers, life flight helicopters are in the air. not clear if they are enroute to the scene or bringing wounded from the triage area to the hospital. but we're told there are at least six in that area. have you heard anything about what may have caused this explosion? >> the only thing, i heard early

reports in waco, it was a fertilizer plant that exploded. it's a fertilizer plant that's situated close to a local nursing home. i also report that a daughter of a friend of mine who lives five miles away from it, the location, had her front door blown in. these are the reports that i'm hearing. >> amazing. >> i want to bring in tommy al ford, he saw the explosion. he's joining us on the phone. what did you see? >> our store is in the center of town. they got a call, some of the guys from the volunteer fire department. they come in here all the time. they were in here just hanging out, and they got a call and said the west fertilizer plant was on fire. they were like, all right. so they took off, and a few minutes later, a guy bulled up, yeah, i can see the flames from

here, we walk out in the middle of the street, and we can see them. not a minute later, they exploded. it was pretty massive, it was intense. windows across the street blew out. >> do you know how many people work here? >> windows in a lot of stores were blown out it was pretty breathtaking. >> do you have any sense of how many people work at this fertilizer plan the at this hour? >> not many. i mean, i know they closed down at about four or five in the afternoon. i know there's people on site. and -- including all the volunteer fire department headed that way. i couldn't tell you how many people got hurt, i know all the volunteer fire department that was in here was over there on site when it happened. >> are you still able to see flames at this point? >> no, not right now, no.

i just closed down the store. i'm still here, and they're saying a possible secondary explosion is possible. i mean, they're -- i'm not sure about the whole evacuation thing going on. i just closed down the store. but i mean, they say there is a possibility, there are live gas lines over there. >> and we're looking at live pictures right now from our affiliate on the left side of your screen, also on the right of your screen, is the triage area that's been set up on the nearby football field -- how far are you from that football field? >> i'm going to say maybe two and a half miles. i'm right down the road. in the center of town. >> how far is the football field from the fertilizer plant? >> not even -- i'd say maybe a mile, not even. maybe a few -- i'd say probably -- >> it's very close? >> 900, 700 yards. >> all right. listen, tommy, i appreciate it.

i'm sorry for all that your town is going through. hold on for a second. the spokesman for the texas department -- i'm just getting more information right now. go ahead? we're just getting information -- i'm sorry, what's the source of that information, i'm sorry i'm talking to a producer in my ear. the spokesman for the texas department of public safety has told reuters a nearby nursing home has collapsed and a number of people who are in that nursing home are trapped, believed to be trapped inside. again, this comes from reuters quoting a spokesman for the texas department of public safety saying that a nearby nursing home seems to have collapsed and people may be trapped inside. this is obviously a very fluid situation. we're trying to be very accurate and cautious in what we're

reporting. we're just talking to tommy alford who saw the initial explosion. felt the impact of it, we're going to take a short break. our coverage continues in a moment. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families

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visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. welcome back. i'm anderson cooper live in boston. we're following a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant outside waco, texas, you're looking at the pictures -- video we're showing you on the left-hand side of the screen. on the right-hand side that's a helicopter shot, i can't quite make it out. we've been showing you pictures of a triage site that's been set up on a football field about a mile away from the explosion. that's a still photo you're seeing. that's now video of the triage field that's been set up. we do not have an accurate sense of how many injuries there may be. we did just talk to the ceo of a

nearby hospital. and again, we're showing live pictures right now of that triage field who is recommending anyone in the nearby area, that needs treatment to go to that triage field. already at the nearby hospital they have seen more than 20 people coming in by ambulance, they have had dozens more coming in through private vehicles. choppers are in the air bringing even more patients. as we were speaking to him just a few moments ago, even more patients were arriving by private vehicles and ambulances. you're seeing -- we're getting new video now of the explosion -- excuse me, a new still photo we're going to show you in a moment. a huge plume of smoke. a still photo of the explosion, not clear how long after the initial explosion that was taken, but it does show obviously the power of the blast and the height that it reached into the sky. we have a photographer enroute to the area. the entire area has been